Cliffhanger
by JaganshiKenshin
Summary: While investigating a strange phemonenom, Hiei and his companions are whisked off to Makai. Will the people there push him over the edge, and can they return to the human world?
1. C1 Arrival! Hiei and Company Hang On

Disclaimer: Kenshin does not own the Yuu Yuu Hakusho characters (they are the property of Togashi Yoshihiro et al), and does not make any money from said characters. Don't sue.

What Kenshin does own, however, are all the original characters in this work. Any attempt to "borrow" these characters will be met with the katana, or worse.

The events in _Idiot Beloved_ take place shortly after the Dark Tournament; _Firebird Sweet_ directly follows. This story takes place during _The Book of Cat With Moon,_ which introduces Kaitou Yuu to Hiei.

Title: Cliffhanger Chapter One: Arrival! Hiei And Company Hang On

Author: JaganshiKenshin

Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: K/PG-13

Summary: Hiei and company 'awake' to a literal cliffhanger

A/N: In this story, I've had fun switching viewpoints. Thanks for reading this!

"Don't look down!"

Cliffhanger, C1: Arrival! Hiei and Company Hang On

by

Kenshin

"What the-!" Hiei blinked to awareness, clinging to a sheer pink cliff, with no memory of how he had arrived.

The initial jolt of disorientation left him dizzy, as though he'd been riding a Tilt-A-Whirl. Gray-gauze fog pressed all around, making it difficult to see farther than a few yards.

Hiei saw that Shayla Kidd was right behind him, her marigold-bright hair visible even through the fog. Below her, Kaitou Yuu and Kuwabara Kazuma also clung.

The fog made it seem as though they were floating in the middle of nowhere, but the cliff was painfully real. Pink stone bit into Hiei's fingers as he clung to a rocky fingerhold only three inches deep. His precarious foothold angled downward.

Shay-san's powers as a Spellcaster could offer no assistance here. Nimble and athletic his idiot beloved was, tougher than her elfin frame might suggest, she suffered from an irrational fear of heights.

Hiei could save her. His powers could save them all. He poised to leap upwards as he had countless times before-only to discover he could not shift into hyperspeed.

Shayla Kidd's foot slipped. She squealed.

"Don't look down!" he barked, so of course they all did: granite-tough Kuwabara Kazuma, scholarly Kaitou Yuu.

All except the girl. "Don't worry," she quavered, pressed against the rock, face hidden. Fearless of heights himself, Hiei knew that blindly clinging to the rock face was the safest place for Shayla Kidd.

Hiei could scale the cliff in an eyeblink-so why not now? He reached back to grab his sword, but it wasn't there. Why not? A sword might have provided some meager leverage. He was wearing an old red baseball jacket, black t-shirt, and jeans. The others, his fellow Shadow Warriors, also wore street clothes. What had they been doing before this?

Below Hiei's terrified firebird, Kaitou Yuu looked up, diffused light glinting off his eyeglasses. Kaitou was neither athletic nor particularly bold, and his power to cast a Territory could only protect them from violence within the safety of its bubble. It could not stop them plummeting to certain death.

As anchor, Kuwabara Kazuma could summon a _Rei-Ken_, a Spirit Sword fashioned from his own _ki._ Kuwabara would be able to use it as a pole-vault, and he was strong enough to pull Shay-san with him. Why had he not summoned it?

_And are we in the human or demon world?_

Kaitou voiced the question on everyone's mind. "W-where are we? How did we get here?"

"Where's Urameshi?" Kuwabara demanded. "Or Kurama?"

"They weren't with us," said Shay-san. "And don't ask how I know that."

_How in fact does she know?_ wondered Hiei. _I don't remember where we were, and I remember everything._

0-0-0-0

A small, dark room, filled with three girls and a seething tension. One girl's soft voice spoke. "M-maybe," Chiho ventured, "it's best to stay put until help arrives?"

"Help?" Emi's voice chimed in. "Her? She's always been horrible to us. Why else would we have drawn the short straw?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut UP!" Yuri flared. "I need to THINK!"

0-0-0-0

_I'm dizzy,_ thought Kuwabara. _And Kuwabara-the-man don't get dizzy like this. Kaitou's pulling the strong silent act, but I know him better'n that. Shay-san-hope she's okay. Why hasn't Hiei jumped to the top by now? Lost my memory, but-_

_-I hear something and look out the window and everything's white, solid white, like some heavy fog just rolled in off the water, can't even see the beach or the trees. And I open my mouth to call everyone to the window, and Shay-san screams._

_And then I'm dizzy because I don't feel that musty old green carpet under my shoes, and my hands are gripping this slippery pink stone. And then Kaitou's gasping, and I realize we're on this cliff._

0-0-0-0

"We're dead," announced Kaitou.

"Shut up, Yuu," snapped Kuwabara. "My _Rei-Ken_ will-" Kuwabara grunted with effort, but no Spirit Sword appeared.

_This is bad,_ thought Hiei. The bottom of the cliff faded into mist. They could be miles from solid ground.

"How far to the top?" Shay-san's squeak was almost carried away on the wind.

"No idea," said Hiei. "Climb."

They struggled upward, even Hiei moving slowly. And then Shay-san's left foot slipped, then her right, and she clung by a single hand. When she screamed, Hiei nearly lost his grip, twisting around to reach for her.

She fell. _No!_ Hiei thought.

Then, of all people, Kaitou Yuu leaned out dangerously far, clasped Shay-san's flying wrist in an acrobat's grip, and hauled her to safety beside him, where the ledge was just a bit wider.

Hiei could breathe again. He shut his eyes in gratitude.

And as Shayla Kidd wheezed her thanks, Hiei urged them on. About an hour later, sweating, cursing, they achieved the top and lay limp as rag dolls, gasping for air.

0-0-0-0

The air smelt of salt and stone. The sky was a pale dull gray. Strolling away from the pink castle, Kurama peered over the edge of the cliff. It dropped off in a sheer plunge to the beach far below, where gentle greenish waves licked the buff-colored sand.

Hands thrust in the pockets of an old windbreaker, Urameshi Yuusuke emerged from the woods far behind the structure.

Yuusuke seemed cheerful, even under these trying circumstances, his black hair windblown, brown eyes merry. He joined Kurama. Facing the castle, Yuusuke cupped both hands around his mouth, shouting, "Yo, Hiei-find anything in there?"

There was no response. Kurama frowned.

0-0-0-0

Kaitou Yuu told himself, _I'll get up. Any minute now_.

He was scraped, bruised, tired, but otherwise all right. His companions lay around him, visible from the corner of his eye as rag-piles of black, khaki and denim. "Everyone okay?"

Various grunts reassured him.

Hiei got to his feet first, then helped Shayla Kidd to hers. "This is... like something from..." Shay-san was still panting for breath. She paused, then began again. "...a bad dream."

"No," Hiei snapped. "Like a-"

Hiei cut himself off so abruptly that Kaitou knew something was wrong. But what? What had Hiei been about to say?

Kuwabara rose in grim silence.

"I'll be getting up any second now," groaned Kaitou.

"Love your optimism," said Shay-san. She offered a hand, but Kaitou waved it away shamefaced, struggling to his feet.

"Let's go," said Hiei, taking the point. By mutual silent consent, Hiei had assumed the position as leader, so the others followed, heading away from the cliff. Up here the air felt still, and the fog sapped their strength. The hard-packed soil was dotted with scrubby gray weeds that crunched underfoot.

"Some sort of high desert?" Kaitou glanced around.

"Rainy season's about to start, said Hiei. "Lucky us."

"How do you know?" Kaitou said.

"_Makai,_" panted Kuwabara, who had a powerful sixth sense. Hands braced on his knees, he added, "Demons. Gettin' that tickle feeling."

"Yes." Hiei sounded like he was struggling to grasp an ounce of patience. "_I'm_ standing two feet in front of you."

"This ain't you," Kuwabara replied, hand still braced on knees. "Further off. And nothin' like your _ki._"

"Demons get into the human world," Kaitou reminded them.

"But if we're in _Makai_..." Shay-san sounded worried, moving closer to Hiei, "You know what that means."

Hiei nodded. "I can't get back."

Kaitou knew it as well. A powerful A-class _youkai_ such as Hiei could not pass through the barrier that separated the human world from the _Makai_ plane. _But then_, he wondered, _how did he get here with the rest of us?_

Shay-san's gamine features set in grim determination. "I won't leave without you."

Hiei didn't respond. He walked a few paces along level ground. Then-"Wait." He held up a hand. "Hear that?"

A metallic clanging noise in the distance, like a hammer striking hollow tin. Some sort of forge?

"Where's it coming from?" whispered Kaitou.

Hiei shrugged. "Head for the sound," he said. And as they walked on, the looming hulk of a building emerged from the fog.

0-0-0-0

Hoarse from shouting for the others, Urameshi Yuusuke stood well back from the edge of the cliff, stamping the sandy ground in frustration. He glared at the stone structure. "That's it," he snapped. "I'm going in."

"You can't." Kurama threw out an arm, blocking his way. "It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Yuusuke snorted. _That Kurama-always cool, always cautious. But that's not me._ "What do I care?"

Kurama, in a fisherman's sweater and gray flannels, stood adamant. "We have a duty to the others, and to the mission."

"Yeah..." Yuusuke thought about it. _Hiei's seemed strange lately, even for him. Suppose he found a way back to the _youkai_ plane, and took everyone else along?_ He reached a conclusion he did not like. "They're not answering..."

"... because they're not here," Kurama finished, green eyes narrowed, long russet hair blowing in the salt breeze. "I don't sense Hiei," Kurama said. "What I do sense-"

Urameshi Yuusuke grimaced. He'd felt it, too. An overpowering sensation of- "I hate it when you're right."

"I always am." Kurama's smile took any sting from his words. "Besides, I have a theory."

"You always do." Yuusuke squinted back at the stone structure from which their teammates had never emerged. "We'd better report to Koenma," he said.

0-0-0-0

"Yuri-sama..." ventured Chiho, "Perhaps what you did has given rise to unintended consequences." She was just a little thing, with shoulder-length blue hair and ears like a cat's.

"You mean what _we_ did," Yuri snapped.

Emi, as petite as Chiho, but with short black hair, turned toward their leader. "What do we do now, Yuri-sama?"

Yuri, tall and top-heavy with green skin, said. "We've come this far-"

Emi protested, "But what about-"

"We see it through to the end," Yuri snarled.

Silence. Then, Chiho said: "Yuri-sama, forgive me, but your choice of words seems unfortunate."

0-0-0-0

Kuwabara thought, _Big evil lurking somewhere. Big. But where? That building? That metallic noise we heard: flag on the pole, jingin' in the breeze._ "I could swear that's a school," Kuwabara said. "We must be in the human world!"

"They have schools in _Makai_, too," Hiei reminded him.

_That don't look like no normal flag, though._

They stopped to regard the building of fawn-colored brick. Three stories high, similar to any other school, Sarayashiki Junior High or even St. Joe's, the private school where, years ago, he and the runt had gone undercover to solve a case of levitating dinnerware.

"And we _are_ in Makai," said Hiei, pointing to the flag. It was blue, with yellow scrawl. "See the script?"

Kuwabara tried to see script in the meaningless squiggles.

"I can read a few of the local dialects," Hiei continued. "This says 'Rikuto Academy.' It's a prestigious girl's school."

"Oh?" Kaitou brightened.

"Save the dating game for later," Kuwabara muttered.

As they studied the flag, its lettering rippled, then changed, like words written on water. Hiei announced, "Now it says _Help._"

Kaitou said, "I smell a trap."

"Even so." Shay-san hurried toward the front entrance.

0-0-0-0

Kurama, busily thinking, and Yuusuke, busily scowling, had been escorted by the ferry girl Botan to Koenma's office.

The tiny bureaucrat was clad in a official-looking outfit with a jaunty hat. Gnawing his everpresent pacifier, Koenma peered up from a stack of papers as Yuusuke explained their problem. Despite his toddler's appearance, Koenma was the auxiliary ruler of _Reikai_-the Spirit World.

Colorful walls and floor; busy _oni_, efficiently depositing more paperwork. The big elaborate desk which dwarfed the one behind it. Everything suggested a cheerful place. But the bright decor stood in stark contrast to the grim mood.

The team, consisting of Kurama and Hiei, Yuusuke and Kuwabara, Shayla Kidd and Kaitou Yuu, had arrived to investigate the site a couple of hourse before. Following a cursory glance around the first story of the building, Kurama and Yuusuke had emerged to study the exterior, leaving Hiei and the others to deal with the interior.

Kurama remembered one particular detail: the unusual chandelier in the main hall. Formed of triangular, milky-pink crystal slabs the size of a man's leg, it had flickered on and off. They related this to Koenma.

"If they're gone, they're gone." Koenma spread his tiny hands in a gesture of helplessness. "There's nothing I can do."

"Koenma-sama!" Botan, her blue ponytail flipping in outrage, thrust herself between the _Reikai_ ruler and Yuusuke. "How can you be so off-handed?" She planted her fists on her hips, a gesture which would have more impact if she'd been dressed in army fatigues rather than a flowery pink kimono.

Recalling the atmosphere at the site of their investigation, Kurama listed the elements of forboding, wrongness, perhaps evil. He realized the answers did not lie here, in this busy office.

Botan was still chewing out everything in sight. Pointing at Kurama and Yuusuke, she snapped, "These guys work their butts off for you and all you can say is your hands are tied?"

An indignant Yuusuke added to the din. Koenma relented, hitting a button on his intercom, yelling for Joruju Saotome, the big blue fellow who was his right-hand _oni._

Kurama took the opportunity to quietly draw Botan aside and ask for a favor.

0-0-0-0

Exhausted from the climb, Shayla Kidd's legs still shook with fatigue-but something else was terribly wrong. Ordinarily Hiei could power up such a cliff in a few leaps, and get them all to safety in less time than it took for her to panic.

She knew something was off with Hiei. Last week, she'd asked what what wrong. Nothing, Hiei replied. She knew better than to press the matter, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

The school flag beckoned, waving without benefit of breeze. She brushed that mystery aside in favor of the more pressing mystery: how had they come to be clinging to that rockface? As if she would ever have agreed to such a climb!

Yet she was dressed for action: sneakers, black sweats and a voluminous black hoody. Her Beretta .32 lay tight at her side in a pancake holster, and though she carried no purse, her pockets were filled with useful items.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a drumbeat of urgency: bathroom bathroom bathroom. She bolted for the school, leaving the others to follow.

Hiei was saying, "Students don't go home weekends. The Academy's not just a school; it's an entire campus, with dorms."

Inside Rikuto Private Academy For Demon Girls, Shayla Kidd ran down the first corridor she saw.

0-0-0-0

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Kuwabara sensed the odd, blood-chilled feeling of a spatial dislocation, as though Kaitou Yuu had already cast his Territory. But when he turned to ask, Kaitou wasn't there.

Neither was anyone else.

(To be continued: a shocking sight awaits.)

-30-


	2. C2 Save Us! The Plea of the Lost

Title: Cliffhanger C2: Save Us! The Plea of the Lost

Author: JaganshiKenshin

Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: K/PG-13

Summary: Alone with Kaitou in a girl's bathroom-what could possibly go wrong?

A/N: Having fun with multiple viewpoints. Thank you for reading this, and I appreciate your reviews!

"Those eyes-horrible!"

Cliffhanger, C2: Save Us! The Plea of the Lost

by

Kenshin

With no idea how he had arrived, Kaitou Yuu found himself in a dimly-lit hallway: dark linoleum floors, beige walls. Rikuto Academy? "Where are-?"

And at his elbow, Shayla Kidd, a costume-party ninja all in black. Noting her pained expression, Kaitou said, "Don't panic. We'll find Hiei and the others."

"Bathroom first, panic later." Shay-san pelted down the hall ahead of him.

"Hey!" Kaitou hurried to catch up. "Bad enough we got separated from Hiei-"

Grabbing Kaitou's hand, she yanked him down the deserted hallway. "You look like you just swallowed a cactus."

"I was merely going through all the ways in which Hiei could kill me if I accompany you to the ladies' room."

"Nah. You're the one who saved me on the cliff."

"And then I realized that in Hiei's eyes, I'm practically a girl myself."

"Hiei would never say that-out loud."

"That will be of immense comfort to me once I'm cut in two and roasted on a spit."

She indicated a door on the left. "That's it-judging by the little figure with horns and a tail wearing a dress."

0-0-0-0

"Shay-San? Kuwabara?" Hiei's voice was a whisper. "Did you sense that just now? That dislocation?" But no one heard; no one was near. One minute, they were all following Shayla Kidd into the school. The next-

Hiei stopped to think. He stood in a cool, dark hallway somewhere in a girl's school, a pale grayish light sifting through windows to his left. Alone, but back in the _youkai_ world-a world from which he had been cast out at birth by his Ice Maiden mother's female-only society.

He caught sight of a yellowish light from a turn in the corridor ahead. Hiei moved toward the light.

Shayla Kidd would have to be a fool not to have noticed his recent brooding, and she was no fool. _I'm back, though. Back among my kind. I've thought of this before. The Makai. It's my homeland after all. So who sent us here? Koenma? The Agency? _

_Did they know I was about to quit?_

_Hiei-go here! You're in a recording session? What a pity. Hiei-go there! Oh, you're in rehearsal? Costume fitting? Grabbing a hurried dinner? A shame. Now go. Don't forget to fill out your paperwork._

"This is getting me nowhere," Hiei muttered. With Hyperspeed gone, what weapons _did_ he still possess?

Fire. You could always mow down a foe with a wall of flame. Curling his right hand, Hiei concentrated, struggling to produce even a small flicker of his ready fire. Nothing. He walked on.

When he turned the corner, Hiei saw that the light came from a display case of trophies. The glass felt cool to his fingertips. Inside, shelves of placques and cups: awards for Best In Shougi, Best Essay, Best in Archery-

Weapons! If you can't use your natural weapons, arm yourself. Hiei went in search of the armory.

0-0-0-0

Kuwabara Kazuma stood alone in a darkish hallway, windows to his left emitting pale, diffused light, doors to the right.

_Hmmm. An all-girls school. Now there's an idea: teaching at such a place. But where are the students? Did they get sent where we came from? What a mess that would be._

_And that pipsqueak Hiei. Something's up with him. No telling what._

Kuwabara had no memory of his arrival in the hallway, and little memory of what had happened before the cliff.

And then he did: Urameshi and Kurama were outside. Inside, upstairs, green carpeting. Salt from the sea. Scent of decay, of age. Then he'd sensed something bad and tried to warn the others. Koenma had sent the team to look into it. Because-

Memory returned in a sweeping flash. It was once a great estate called The Breakers.

Located on the cliffs of Tezuka Beach, The Breakers was a splendid three-story mini-castle, still standing after its abandonment. Built solid, of pink stone.

Inside, Kuwabara had sensed the weirdness, something more sinister than the miasma of stale beer and old sweat. So had Shay-san; her sixth sense has almost as good as his, and she'd instinctively moved closer to Hiei.

Kurama and Urameshi were the only ones who didn't 'come to' on the cliff, Kuwabara recalled. Because they were outside when it had happened?

_Well, that ain't gonna get us out of this mess. Kuwabara is a man among men, a man of action. Well, not exactly a man among men now, 'cause no one else is here_.

Kuwabara peered out a window. It was difficult to tell, with that thick fog boiling up, but he might be looking down from the top floor onto a side courtyard.

Sensing a nearby presence, he set out to search the halls.

0-0-0-0

Kaitou Yuu wished he was back in Tokyo. Then he wished he had remained out in the hall.

The ladies' room was a disappointment only in that it looked like any other school bathroom. Kaitou had expected something exotic, like pink tile inlaid with white seashells, but there was an everyday mirror above a bank of white sinks, a grouping of gray metal stalls on the opposite wall.

He stared at himself in the mirror, knew who he was: Kaitou Yuu, age 19, dark-haired and unathletic, former student of Meiou Academy, writer-about-town, living with his parents in a modest apartment. Only short-term memory was gone.

At a sink, Kaitou turned on a tap.

She had insisted that he not remain in the hall: Shayla Kidd, an American in her mid-20s who spoke Japanese like a native, short fringed hair the color of a bonfire, eyes as gray as a calm winter lake until she got mad. Then they turned molten gold. You did not want to get her mad.

She was just a little thing, and Kaitou's bulk dwarfed her. Yet in a sense, she was far more powerful than he, a gunslinger, and a Spellcaster of no small renown. It was speculated that her musical ability, a powerful mezzo-soprano singing voice, gave rise to her powers. Nevertheless, it was he who should be protecting her, not the other way round.

How had they gotten onto the cliff? Were there cliffs like that near The Breakers?

The Breakers! They had gone to investigate. Normally, Kaitou would not accompany them on a mission; he was not even a 'team' member, but had a keen interest in the history of that accursed place, and had tagged along after former schoolmate Minamino, whom everyone else called Kurama.

He took of his eyeglasses and bent, splashing his face. Then he straightened, groping for paper towels. When he dried his face, and resettled his glasses, Kaitou looked again into the mirror, and saw that they were not alone.

He stifled a cry of terror.

0-0-0-0

Kuwabara shut his eyes. _Youki_ for sure now, faint but a little stronger than on the edge of the cliff. The fog was blanketing his senses.

Opening his eyes, he tried to summon his spirit sword, but though he struggled until beads of sweat popped from his brow, his _Rei-Ken_ would not appear.

There was another _ki_ signature as well, stamped above the other readings: familiar, arrogant, somewhat obnoxious. _For a shrimp, Hiei sure pumps out one hell of an aura._

Kuwabara headed for the stairs. Hiei was somewhere below. And if it wasn't Hiei, if it was some other demon with an equally big bad aura, then someone was in for an unpleasant surprise, and even without the use of his _Rei-Ken_, Kuwabara would make damn sure it wasn't himself.

0-0-0-0

_Well, all righty then._ Shayla Kidd leaned against the stall. _Let's see what we can figure out._

She had her Beretta, and though the little gun's stopping power was minimal, the bullets were augmented with holy salt, and _that_ would drop any demon in its tracks.

She got out the Agency device resembling a miniaturized mobile phone. It did not even light. What now?

Kaitou Yuu, though brilliant, was subject to nerves. She would try to bolster his confidence.

She burst from the stall. "Good thing I loaded my pockets," she trilled. "A comb and some lip gloss never hurt any-"

And then she saw Kaitou's bone-white face.

And the girls.

Two of them, each smaller than Kaitou, but taller than she, the one with Raggedy-Ann hair slightly shorter than the one with long green-blonde hair.

They stood with their backs to her, gazing up at him, each clasping the other's hand, and they both wore school uniforms consisting of a crisp white blouse tucked into a blue-plaid skirt. "I see we have company."

And then both girls turned toward the sound of her voice, and she saw _their_ faces, and told herself not to scream.

0-0-0-0

The Breakers is haunted. Some say it is evil.

Built in early 1931 by an Englishman named Cromwell, with his round bland face and mind like a nest of scorpions, the Breakers was a marvel of engineering. Tucked glittering halfway up a sheer cliff on a ledge, it looked like a Hollywood castle, constructed of milky pink stone, two turrets facing the water.

Cromwell, loving the black arts, was said to have used the north tower for conjuring. One night in 1937, one of those conjurings went wrong. The north tower was blasted to rubble. Cromwell was never again seen.

A wealthy Tokyo man bought The Breakers, rebuilt it, and filled it with what might be called the glitterati, hosting extravagant parties, with attendees arriving by yacht. Surviving the war intact, the Breakers was found empty one day in 1950.

After that, a series of foreigners owned and then sold the place with lighting rapidity: Italian, Swiss, American. During the Big 80s, it rented out as a setting for music video shoots, but a series of mishaps shut that venture down.

The last owner, an American banker, could not find a buyer. The Breakers has lain empty since, apart from daring teenage rebels, vagrants too dulled to feel its aura, and drug dealers.

It remains home to many jaki, those pawns of the demon world who are able to travel freely between planes thanks to their low level of spirit power.

As a species, some jaki resemble rats or squirrels and pass un-noticed. Some have almost-human form. Some are quite harmless. Others choose to serve the dark side.

0-0-0-0

Panicked, Kaitou thought: _Shay-san! If anything happens to her I don't want to know what Hiei will do to me._ He found to his horror he could not cast his Territory.

Shayla Kidd's open hoodie revealed a gun and holster. She threw him a 'stand-down' look. "It's all right, Kaitou." Her voice was steady enough, but her face looked pale and pinched, her eyes a shade too big.

The demon girls groped toward Shayla Kidd. Kaitou tensed. The Raggedy-Ann girl reached for his friend-

And Kaitou witnessed what few had seen before: deadly Shayla Kidd sliding effortlessly from Demon Fighter into Mommy Mode.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" she crooned.

The Raggedy-Ann girl wailed, "You came!" To Kaitou's surpise, she spoke excellent Japanese. "Oh, I _knew_ you would!" And she flung herself sobbing into Shayla Kidd's arms.

0-0-0-0

Gliding along the hall, Hiei heard heavy footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs. He turned to face the danger, reaching instinctively for a sword that was not there.

Hiei sighed. It was only Kuwabara. "The others," he said. "Have you found-"

Instead of replying, Kuwabara lifted his head, stared past Hiei, and gasped, "Oh, God, what's _that?"_

0-0-0-0

The _youkai_ girls loomed over Shayla Kidd, but she was doing her best to soothe them into coherency. They had given their names: Raggedy-Ann Suzume was a freshman, eager yet scared; green-blonde Aiko, a sophomore, struggling to seem unimpressed. Sha-san in turn gave her name, then said, "This is Kaitou Yuu, one of our party."

"But a boy-in the _bathroom?_" Suzume was scandalized.

"I asked him to accompany me." She handed off the blonde to Kaitou. He was startled, then gratified, by this sudden armful.

Both girls looked fairly human, and quite pretty, like Juri and Koto, whom he had seen on the Dark Tournament tape.

It was just that their eerie, milk-white eyes had taken him aback at first.

Suzume was still weeping on Shay-san's shoulder, and if her wailing didn't wake the dead, there was no dead around.

Suzume got out, "You're the magicians we p-prayed for!"

"We-I mean, Suzume-was so scared!" Aiko added. "We couldn't see, and we don't know where Rie-senpai or Miyu-chan is either. Suzume and I held hands anyway, and cast the spell to get help."

"It's all right, Sweetie," Shay-san murmured, "everything's going to be okay, you're safe now, we're here."

Kaitou had to stifle a laugh. They were trapped in the _Makai_, surrounded by demon girls, but everything would be okay.

"We set the banner waving, too," added Aiko proudly, "in case someone should be passing and see it."

"We sort of know what happened." The Raggedy-Ann schoolgirl gazed blindly up from Shay-san's shoulder. "Someone else's spell went wrong. Because of that Yuri-"

"We didn't have our _senpai._" Aiko tossed back her hair. "The best we could do was pray for powerful magicians to rescue us."

"Yuri-san hates us," added Suzume.

Kaitou spoke up. "Yuri-san?"

"President of the Drama Club," said Aiko.

"Then you're not blind by nature," Shay-san was saying. "Those eyes-"

"No. Yuri-san did this, I know she did!" Suzume gulped and wiped her white eyes on her sleeve.

"Do they look horrible?" Aiko peered up at Kaitou. "Our eyes? Creepy and horrible?"

"No," Kaitou lied gallantly, "Not at all."

"The others in our party," said Shay-san. "Hiei and Kuwabara. Have you encountered them?" Sensitive to the girl's anguish, tactful enough even under these trying circumstances not to refer to their blindness. "Male. Their voices-"

"No," said Aiko.

"We'll help you," Kaitou found himself saying, echoing Shay-san's dogged optimism. "We'll find your friends."

"Yes." Shay-san fixed her gaze on Kaitou. "And now, I need to test a theory."

An unpleasant chill swept through Kaitou, who knew what she meant. His Territory, that bubble of safety inside which no act of violence could occur, was not working. "I-can't cast my Territory," he muttered.

"I know," Shay-san replied, steering the girls against the wall, then facing Kaitou.

"See," stage-whispered Aiko, "I knew they were magicians."

He dreaded this. Spellcaster Shayla Kidd was going to make him cluck like a chicken. Or worse.

With the girls behind her, Shay-san purred, "Kaitou Yuuuuu."

Sweat pricked the back of his neck. Shayla Kidd's First-Level Command voice, several levels below her Ultimate Voice, could _not_ kill him with a mere word, nor stop his heart, nor cause his blood to turn into battery acid and destroy him from the inside out. Nevertheless, she could thoroughly embarrass Kaitou in front of the pretty _youkai_ girls, even though they couldn't see him.

Seeing his pained expression, Shayla Kidd shook her head. "I'll take your word for it."

Kaitou briefly shut his eyes in relief, as Suzume quavered, "But this means you can't use your magic?"

"We won't need it," said Shay-san, firmly, though the glance she exchanged with Kaitou Yuu was filled with worry.

Kaitou thought, _If we can't use our Powers, then we're as helpless as these blind girls._

-30-

(To be continued: trouble on Level Two)


	3. C3 Fight! Spirit of the Sword

Title: Cliffhanger C3: Fight! Spirit of the Sword

Author: JaganshiKenshin

Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: K/PG-13

Summary: Unable to use their powers, can Hiei and company return home?

A/N: Thank you for reading this, and I appreciate your reviews!

"You cannot take that sword!"

Cliffhanger C3 Fight! Spirit of the Sword

by

Kenshin

Urameshi Yuusuke wanted to punch someone-with no one to punch. A fighter by nature and training, his inability to act gnawed at him. Hiei and the others had vanished, while Kurama was off with Botan, doing who-knew-what. Yuusuke could only wait.

A towering _oni,_ dropping a fresh stack of papers on Koenma's desk took one look at Yuusuke's thunderous face, then fled.

Kurama had something up his sleeve. Best not to call attention to his absence. Yuusuke cracked his knuckles in frustration, paced the room. _Maybe there's a chair I can break_.

Koenma was stamping papers with machinelike precision when Yuusuke noted the grim set of his features, the mouth twitching around his everpresent pacifier. No matter how off-handed Diaper Boy might seem, the team's disappearance was his responsibility. It was a lot of weight for such tiny shoulders to bear.

_Something's funny with Hiei, though. What if he did drag everyone else to Makai? But for what reason?_

Years ago, at the Labyrith Castle's Gate of Betrayal,

when they'd first started working together, Yuusuke had realized something about Hiei: he wouldn't stoop to using the heavy, descending Gate to crush Yuusuke. What would that prove? No, Hiei would fight Yuusuke head-on. So if Hiei wanted to return to his homeland, wouldn't he just up and return, alone?

Maybe not.

Recalling the twists and turns of Labyrinth Castle made Yuusuke say to the mound of paperwork, "It's like a door into oblivion opened, then shut, with them on the other side."

Koenma stamped faster. Yuusuke resumed his pacing.

0-0-0-0

Yuri was angry, but also more than a little frightened. Though accompanied by her underlings, Chiho and Emi, their tiny room with its locked doors felt sinister, strange. Yuri raged noisily for a while, but the tirade left her weak and shaky. Trailing off, she sank to the floor.

Apart from the swish of Emi's tail, all was quiet a while. Then Chiho, once again foolish enough to stand up to Yuri, spoke to her superior in a small, soft voice: "Oh, Yuri-sama. How could you do such a thing to them?"

A fresh surge of rage filled Yuri's top-heavy form. She sprang to her feet, whirled in the direction of her subordinates. "They brought it upon themselves!"

Chiho: "Perhaps... perhaps..."

Even Emi, despite her habit of slavishly parroting Yuri, added, "But what of the rest of them?"

"In the way, every last one!" Yuri's distended nostrils shot sparks. "As you might be if you don't shut up!"

"Even the Headmistress?" Chiho persisted. "What now?"

"Now? Surely-surely now they will accede to our demands." Yuri tossed back her hair, oozing defiance, but there was a quaver in her voice, because she knew she'd gone too far, and some things cannot easily be undone.

0-0-0-0

Amano Rie was no longer in the Magic Club's room. A calm girl of medium height with curling amber hair, she had gone to the Clubroom, troubled by Yuri's behavior, to approach that ancient symbol of the club which always seemed to focus her thinking. The symbol, a heavy, carved 'M,' had occupied the room since long before Rie had attained her full scholarship.

She had reached out, caressing its cool quartz surface. She remembered that much.

Then-a moment of swirling dizziness, a surrounding of thick gray fog. Where was she now?

All around her, she felt the stifling presence of dark magic, evil magic, the type of magic to fear. She needed to get out of this eerie place, but-

She could not see. Blinking several times did nothing to clear her vision; all that appeared was a uniform slate gray, as though she'd shut her eyes. But Rie knew they were open.

She refused to panic.

Always the Logical One, as all her dear little _kouhai,_ her underclassmen, called her. Therefore, Rie suspected that something had sent her, actually _sent_ her, from Rikuto to-

-Wherever 'this' was. She shivered.

The room felt larger than her clubroom, cold, with a higher ceiling. That much spatial dissimilarity she could sense. There was the scent of mildew, and also the smell of something mineral, perhaps granite.

Still, Rie refused to panic. Blindly, she put out a hand. Her fingers touched a cold vertical surface of smoothish stone. A wall? Under her feet, also stone or slate, scraping hard against the soles of her soft indoor shoes as she inched forward.

Directly ahead, the air smelled fresher than the musty atmosphere where she stood. With an open door, letting in outside air, this could not be a prison. If she could find the door, someone might see her and offer assistance.

But if someone awaited who did not mean her well?...

Then, she heard a faint tapping sound that seemed to arise in the direction of the fresh air. "Interesting," Rie murmured, and cautiously set out to find it.

She shuffled toward the tapping, to a threshold where the air stirred all around her. She took another step. The tapping stopped. She entertained the faint hope that she had merely been transported to one of the school's outbuildings. The surface beneath her crunched like hard-packed sand. She smelled salt air. She edged forward. The faintest sense of warmth flushed her cheeks and brow.

"Stop!" Someone shrilled. "One more step and you're dead!"

Startled, Rie lurched forward, and one foot slipped, and then the other, until she was plunging down, down, down, blind.

And then Rie did panic. Her scream was torn away by the velocity of her fall.

0-0-0-0

The white-eyed demon girl who approached Kuwabara was shaking, yet she managed to edge toward him.

_Was she born that way?_ Kuwabara wondered. Blind people who have time to adjust don't grope around, arms outstretched, scared of stumbling. She had no cane, no seeing eye demon, and unless those eyeglasses were some device that let her have vision, then someone had done this to her.

That made Kuwabara mad.

Taller than Hiei, but not by much, the girl was pretty in a way: frilled, multicolored ears set off by short-cropped cobalt hair, eyeglasses similar to Kaitou's... but behind them, eerie, ice-white, blank eyes.

"Over here," Hiei called, ambling to meet her. The girl cried out in surprise. Guided by the sound of his voice, she came to him. Hiei steered her over to Kuwabara.

Kuwabara let the girl reach up to touch his face. Her hand felt cool upon his skin. "I knew someone would come." She had a dry, clipped voice that yet shook with nerves. "I knew it! You can help us, can't you?"

"Just a frightened girl?" murmured Hiei.

_A frightened girl with crazy eyeballs,_ thought Kuwabara. He gave his name, then caught Hiei's warning head-shake, and simply introduced Hiei as his 'sidekick.' The fact that this didn't even give rise to a death-glare from Hiei told Kuwabara how serious the situation was.

"My name is Miyu," the girl said, regaining some degree of self-control. "I'm a junior, Treasurer of the Magic Club. This year it's just our _Senpai_ and two other members. I was down near the library when this happened. Did the Headmistress send you? Is she here?"

Never one to bother with formalities, Hiei said, "Clubs? Of course you have clubs. Show me the weapons room."

"Weapons room? We don't have a-"

"You have a martial arts club?" Kuwabara said.

"Well," Miyu said, "there's the Fight Club, but-"

"Let's try to find it." Kuwabara linked his arm through hers. "Come on."

Miyu held onto Kuwabara's arm. They had to climb slowly back up the flight of stairs, but Miyu's directions got them there. "The Fight Club's room," she was saying, "is the largest of our interior Club Rooms. By contrast, The Magic Club's is cramped, but other rooms are smaller still."

They entered a generous rectangular space resembing a dojo, with warm wood-paneled walls, and a boxing ring in one corner.

In another corner, a second human-looking _youkai_ girl sat in melancholic silence. Kuwabara noted Hiei's sharp, silent appraisal of the girl; then Hiei seemed to dismiss her.

The seated girl's long brown hair was pulled into a high waterfall, revealing back-pointed ears. She wore a classic archery outfit, with its loose white blouse and breastplate over loose dark pants. Her eyes were shut, and she had a long archer's bow laid across her knees. Tears stood on her pale cheeks. Kuwabara described her to Miyu.

"Saori?" called Miyu. "Is that you?"

Saori rose gracefully, opening her shimmering white eyes. "It's Miyu, isn't it?" She spoke in a low, dejected voice. "The Magic Club? And my Literature class. Miyu, can you see?" She sobbed a breath. "Because I can't."

Miyu ran to her; they clung together. Ignoring the girls' tear-stained reunion, Hiei prowled the room muttering, inspecting weaponry, every now and then hefting a club or throwing star, then rejecting the object. Curious, Kuwabara followed. At last, Hiei stopped at the far wall.

"Found it." A sword hung on the wall in true ceremonial style, its _saya_ far more elaborate than Hiei's usual plain black model; of polished, inlaid bloodwood, and the _tsuba_, the hand guard, sported red ribbons.

Hiei was murder on swords. He went through them like test labs went through glass beakers.

Quietly, Hiei spoke to Kuwabara. "They seem to have a rapport with you. Find out how they went blind."

Nodding, Kuwabara approached the two girls. When he returned, and brought Hiei up to speed, Hiei took a deep breath.

"Struck blind by an unknown force?" Hiei studied both girls, still huddled together. "Going about their usual business?"

"Yeah," said Kuwabara. "Most of the students are away on vacation. Just a handful remain. So who did this?"

"Don't they know?" Hiei snatched the ancient _katana_ from its hanger. He drew the blade, releasing a faint tang of the clove oil used to keep the blade polished.

Saori may have been blind, but she wasn't deaf, and she certainly smelled the oil. She swiveled toward the sword. "Put that back! This is our school's ceremonial blade! It's ancient and costly and it's been hanging there since-"

"Time to act." Slashing the air with his sword, Hiei gave a wolfish grin. He said to Saori, "He who cannot cast away treasure at need is poor indeed."

Hiei headed for the door. Kuwabara eased both girls along, muttering, "You stole that line from Lord of the Rings."

-30-

(To be continued: Another case of disappearance.)


	4. C4 Magic! The Hope of Light

Title: Cliffhanger C4: Magic! The Hope of Light

Author: JaganshiKenshin

Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: K/PG-13

Summary: Something no one else can see acts as a beacon.

A/N: Check out _Codename: Moron_ for the backstory on Hiei and Kuwabara investigating another school. Thanks!

Stuck in another world-can they get back?

Cliffhanger C4: Magic! The Hope of Light

by

Kenshin

Kuwabara and Hiei: the idiot and the runt.

Circling like wary dogs, grating on each other's nerves, yet more often than not, forced to work together, arriving at a sense of mutual respect. But Kuwabara wasn't 14 any more; he was 18, and in a good college. Time had smoothed some of their rougher edges. And at times, Kuwabara seemed to have uncanny insight regarding Hiei-which irked Hiei no end.

Yet, stuck as they were in the _Makai_, two sightless girls on their hands, Kaitou and Yuu Shay-san missing, the prospect of calm, rational interaction seemed bleak.

Hiei sighed. "Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps."

Kuwabara stifled a laugh. _We __**are**__ in trouble_, thought Hiei.

Miyu and Saori, the two schoolgirls, had resisted Kuwabara's attempts to lead them from the room, and were now huddled on a bench in one corner, whispering.

"No names," was Hiei's low, quick imperative.

"What is this, a heist?" Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "Or maybe you think your notoriety has spread to a girl's school?"

A quick glance at the girls, and Hiei smacked the Fight Club's ancient and expensive ceremonial _katana_ back into its _saya_, eliciting a groan from Saori, the archer girl.

"You never know who's listening." Grimly, Hiei tucked the sword, sheath and all, into the back of his belt; then he continued, keeping his voice down. "I remember now. We got the call from Diaper Boy to go to some stupid beach house, this instant. I had been on my way to the bakery. Didn't think I'd need my sword."

"That'll teach you to assume, Runt."

Hiei grunted. "Shay-san barely had time to call a babysitter. But she took her gun."

"She'll be okay." Kuwabara may have been trying to reassure him. Hiei had to concede that bickering took time and energy better devoted to more important matters.

"I can't summon my Rei-Ken either," Kuwabara said.

"I know. But _this_ thing'll work under any conditions." Feeling better with weapon in hand, Hiei patted the sword.

"She's just a schoolgirl." Kuwabara glanced at Miyu and Saori. "They both are."

"Maybe. But there's something more going on here. And when I find out who's behind this, I'll wrap his small intestines around his neck."

"They didn't have nothin' to do with this. They don't have enough power."

"And you know this because?..."

"Sixth sense." Kuwabara folded his arms.

Hiei thought for a few minutes. "You still have that. Why?"

"'Cause it's not a weapon. Whoever, whatever sent us here, stripped us of everything even resembling a weapon."

"Including my Jagan?"

"Of course. That third eye of yours allows you to become Green Eyeball Guy, and didn't you develop the Jagan Wave?"

"Yeah." The Jagan Wave was a wall of psychic force that could knock you through a plate-glass window. When the idiot was right, he usually nailed it. "But these girls could be acting as someone's puppets."

Kuwabara nodded. "We're talking evil here. Big-time evil."

Hiei lifted an eyebrow. "The Breakers?"

"The Breakers."

Though reluctant to admit it, Hiei knew Kuwabara was fairly skilled in reasoning and detective work. But he was still concerned about Shayla Kidd. Even if Kaitou happened to be with her, he would be unable to cast his protective Territory. It was an almost purely defensive weapon, but still a weapon. If you said the Taboo word within Kaitou's Territory, even by accident, your soul got sucked from your body.

"Just schoolgirls." Hiei studied them; the tall, melancholy Saori, and Miyu with her frilled ears and Kaitou-like eyeglasses. Hiei spoke quietly to Kuwabara. "I have a few more questions for you to ask them."

0-0-0-0

Shayla Kidd walked down the dimly-lit corridor, trailing baggage in the form of Raggedy-Ann Suzume clinging to her right hand, green-blonde Aiko to her left. They had chosen her as their guide and comforter over the male Kaitou; their tears had dried, their moods much improved.

As they walked, Shayla Kidd questioned the girls. "You said that you sent for us?"

Aiko replied, "That's right."

"How?"

Suzume said, "We were walking down the hall when this-" she waved in the direction of her eyes-"happened."

"So we stopped right where we were," said Aiko, "and cast a spell for help, even though we're not very advanced."

"When we finished the spell," added Suzume," we found our way to to the bathroom-"

"-and there you were!" finished Aiko, triumphantly.

"Yes." _They have so much confidence in us,_ she thought. "But you understand we can't reveal the exact nature of our powers, or where we come from."

"Of course," said Suzume. "And that's why we have to return to the clubroom."

"Why?" Kaitou got in.

Aiko looked up in his direction. "There's supposed to be something in there that amplifies spells."

Shayla Kidd stopped walking. She gently let go of the girls' hands. Her own hands hurt. They had clenched into fists. Opening her hands, shaking the cramps out, she took a deep, slow, breath, released it. "Something to amplify spells?"

"We're not sure what," Aiko replied. "Our _senpai_ would know. Or maybe the Treasurer."

_Something to amplify spells. Would our powers return?_ "Where's your Headmistress?"

"Headmistress Miki?" said Suzume. "We don't know."

"What's she like?" Kaitou asked.

"Scary." Aiko gave a shiver.

"Not really," Suzume corrected. "More tough-but-fair."

Kaitou said, almost as if reading Shayla's thoughts, "How will we find the others?"

_There's one thing Hiei will be able to see, even without the power of his Jagan._ Handing over the care of Aiko and Suzume to Kaitou, she fished out what appeared to be a small plastic spray bottle containing nothing but water. "Keep the girls clear," she warned him. "This might sting."

0-0-0-0

"School BULLIES dragged us here?" Hiei looked like he was about to cut poor little Miyu in two. Good thing she couldn't see his face: teeth bared in a feral snarl, crimson eyes ablaze.

Kuwabara assured the girl, "My, uh, associate here is just expressing his enthusiasm."

"The hell I am," muttered Hiei.

"I am telling you," replied Miyu, with dignity, "what I _surmise_ has happened."

_Geez, this Miyu really is like Kaitou_. But Kuwabara remembered that he had worked a case with Hiei, at St. Joe's private school for boys, they had also been pitted against school bullies. "Please go on," Kuwabara told the girl kindly.

"Well... it all started with the Drama Club."

0-0-0-0

Amano Rie, screaming as she fell, blind, panicked. _I'm going to die!_ Over the sound of her scream, a man's cry, jagged, hoarse, urgent: "_Botan!_"

Rie lost consciousness.

0-0-0-0

Joruju Saotome, Koenma's right-hand _oni_, sat in his cubicle rummaging through desk drawers for the file on The Breakers.

He was a big blue fellow, whose claws and fangs and tonsured yellow mane belied his mild, almost timid disposition. His cube was neatly appointed, if one disregarded the piles of paperwork teetering on a desk dwarfed by his massive frame.

On his desk also was a sign that read, "You don't have to be dead to work here, but it helps."

Koenma-sama would be furious if Joruju did not find that file. Wincing, he reached for the last drawer. There! Extracting the file, he rifled through it, then paused at one particular page, lips moving as he read the text.

Clutching the file, Joruju ran shouting to Koenma's office.

0-0-0-0

Rie slowly opened her eyes to the same gray flatness.

Still unable to see, she lay on what felt like hard-packed sand, her head and shoulders supported by a strong arm.

"Are you all right?" It was that young man's voice she'd heard while falling: a cultured, breathy contralto. He sounded handsome; she hoped he was.

Rie nodded. She was in a floaty, dreamlike state that she recognized as the aftermath of shock.

"Have you always been blind?" the man continued.

Rie shook her head, then gave a start. A small, furry creature had brushed against her arm.

The shrill voice which had threatened her with death asked, "Why did you walk off the cliff when I said not to?"

"So you were warning me?" She reached out with her other hand, curling it around the creature. It was about the size of a chipmunk, sleek and soft, with rounded ears and a long tail. Rikuto Academy had the highest standards of cleanliness, but Rie had grown up in the countryside, and knew a jaki when she encountered one. She smiled. "Thank you, little one."

"Don't mention it." This was a new voice, light, girlish, with a touch of humor.

Introducing herself, Rie asked, "Where am I?"

"On a beach near a cliff," replied the young man.

"Oh. Could you help me up?"

"Not just yet," he soothed. "You've had quite a scare." He introduced himself as Minamino Shuuichi. "And this is Botan."

Someone knelt next to her. "We were here investigating, and heard you scream," said that same light voice.

"You saved me," said Rie, caressing the jaki's fur. She did not, at this moment, feel up to asking _how_. "You and this little fellow, I guess. I am in your debt."

"Think nothing of it," Botan assured her.

"It's the pink quartz, Botan," said Minamino-san. "I'm sure of it now. These readings confirm certain elements that I had previously only suspected."

_Pink quartz?_ wondered Rie.

"I didn't dare go inside," Minamino-san continued, "but the sample from the outer wall should prove sufficient."

Botan asked, "Did you get everything you needed?"

"I managed to chisel off more than enough."

_Ah_, thought Rie, _the tapping noise that drew me!_

Botan replied, "We'd better get out of here."

Both Minamino-san and Botan helped Rie to her feet. Smoothing her school uniform, patting her hair into place, Rie explained as best she could how she had come to this place, and what she had sensed inside: a pall of evil magic.

"It's a bad place," agreed Botan. "It has a long history of being-bad. I mean, you can't see it, of course, but it-well, don't be scared, Rie-chan."

"I'm not. But I must get back to the Academy."

The jaki piped up. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Rie knelt, encouraging the creature to climb to her shoulder, feeling its tiny paws scrabble up her arm. "All I have is a roll of ginger candy, but it's yours."

It squeaked, "What's ginger candy?"

Minamino-san said that it was time to leave. He and Botan helped Rie climb onto a long, solid bar of wood as thick as her arm, and told her to hold on tight. It felt like a broomstick.

Rie smiled. _A broomstick. Wouldn't you just know it._

0-0-0-0

When Hiei strolled into view with Kuwabara-kun and two new schoolgirls in tow, Kaitou Yuu went rubbery with relief.

Hiei quelled Kaitou with a glance. Kuwabara's granite face confirmed the tension. Their greetings were restrained.

One of the new girls had shortish hair, interesting ears, and eyeglasses. The taller one was dressed in archery gear, and both were as sightless as Suzume and Aiko.

"I saw the light from the Holy Water," Hiei said, stopping in front of Shayla Kidd.

"Figured you would." She didn't throw her arms around him, but even an idiot could sense she was happy to see him.

There were some schoolgirl squeals of joy to be tolerated, but Hiei cut those short to hustle them along to the Club room.

The Magic Club is Rikuto's oldest club, Miyu explained as they headed toward the room, guided by those who could see.

Membership in the Magic Club varies, because, unlike the Drama or Fight or Garden club, the Magic Club is open only to those who are born with the gift. This year, there are four members; in some years, as many as twenty.

"Magic is born, not made. Those who employ mere spellcraft and trickery always get into trouble," Miyu concluded. "I'm only the Treasurer, but even if Rie-_senpai_ is not in the club room, with you here, I'm sure we can set things right."

Kaitou had his doubts.

The Magic Club's room was some 20 feet by 20 feet, pale walls lined with bookshelves, a few chairs scattered about the floor. In the middle of the room was a round wooden table, with a pink, milky paperweight holding open a big book.

Kaitou blinked at the paperweight, something tugging at the back of his mind.

A fat yellow candle sat on the table. Shayla Kidd struck a match, held it hissing to the wick. Light leapt into the room.

It was Hiei who set the paperweight aside and paged through the open spellbook, Aiko acting as his assistant, Hiei uttering a word here or there until Aiko said he'd found the Put-Everything-Back-As-It-Was spell. Then, with Aiko's help, Hiei let his team members know the details of his or her particular part.

Kuwabara glanced around at the afflicted girls. "Ready as we'll ever be," he said.

But Hiei looked grim. "I'm the only one who can read even some of this," he said, "and I can't pronounce half of it."

"We'll help you along," promised Miyu.

"I'm not sure..." Kaitou knew Shayla Kidd had a quick ear, and might be able to pull it off. Kuwabara would power his way through... _But me?_ "Should we even attempt this?"

"Do you want to stay here forever?" Hiei snapped. "Do these girls want to remain sightless?"

As Kaitou worried, Hiei took Saori by the arm, steered her to a chair, and brusquely told her to keep still. "We don't need distractions." He returned to the table and its ponderous book.

Kaitou could tell the girl was fuming at this treatment. "One second." He cleared his throat. "I'm looking at this paperweight. Something's been bothering me for a while."

"Club symbol," corrected Aiko.

"Back at the site," Kaitou said, "there was a chandelier made of the same pink material as this paperweight."

"Club symbol," said Suzume.

"Anyway, the chandelier was blinking on and off."

"It's what chandeliers _do_," said Hiei, as though addressing a monkey who could happen to speak.

"But," Kuwabara said slowly, "there was no electricity..."

"So ?" Hiei cut in. "Let's get on with it."

After a moment's hesitation, Miyu spoke. "All right. You know the words as well as possible. We stand in a circle, and link hands."

With the book in the center of the table, Miyu gave further suggestions about the spell's cadence and pronunciation. Now the 'foreign magicians' were ranged on one side of the table. Aiko took Hiei's hand, and the schoolgirls gathered on the other side, closing the circle.

The chant began, low, slow, ominous.

_So many things could go wrong_, Kaitou thought, sweating it out, careful with the unfamiliar words.

A few key words had to be spoken by one person alone. It was Hiei's turn to speak-

"Wait!" Saori, catapulting from her chair. "I just-"

"Don't-!" cried Kuwabara.

But it was too late; in a flash, the 'magicians' vanished.

(To be continued: the middle of nowhere is a deadly place)

-30-


	5. C5 Falling! A Desperate Last Stand

Title: Cliffhanger C5: Falling! A Desperate Last Stand

Author: JaganshiKenshin

Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: K/PG-13

Summary: The cliff claims them again, and this time-

A/N: Thanks for reading this, and I appreciate your reviews!

"Don't let go!"

Cliffhanger C5: Falling! A Desperate Last Stand

by

Kenshin

Falling, falling, falling, at such speed the air tore at Hiei's clothes. Hiei realized at once what had happened: the interrupted spell had flung them back, exactly where the trouble began, without even the prayer of a handhold.

Plummeting. Hands still clasped each to each. Hiei cried out _Don't let go_, but the wind ripped his words to pieces, and still they fell.

0-0-0-0

"Oh, girls!" Suzume's birdlike voice came from the left.

"The magicians are gone!" Miyu cried. "Hiei's hand vanished from mine!"

"_Hiei_?" Saori's voice went from melancholic to sharp, cutting. "That's his name? That man with the smooth voice?"

"Yes," came Aiko's puzzled reply. "What's wrong?"

"He-he's notorious! No wonder he treated me so abruptly!"

"Notorious?"

"Notorious, and worse!" snapped the archer girl. "He stole from my family-an ancient, valuable sword!"

"Maybe that was a different Hiei," Aiko suggested.

"Different Hiei or no," said Miyu, steadily enough given the circumstances, "we're still blind. Something's gone wrong, so everyone draw near, clasp hands, and close the circle."

"And hurry," added Suzume. "I hear footsteps."

0-0-0-0

Joruju Saotome had just finished briefing his boss, the precious file still clutched in one large blue paw. He leaned heavily against Koenma's desk and shut his eyes against the scolding that already scorched his pointed ears.

Urameshi Yuusuke was no help; he let Koenma go on.

The door opened. Joruju opened his eyes, just in time to see who had entered the office.

"Hmmmmm," muttered Koenma.

0-0-0-0

_Falling!_

Hiei reached back for the Fight Club's sword, yanked it from its _saya,_ jammed it deep into the cliff. Sword shrieked in stone. Hiei jerked to a halt. Shay-san screamed for real, her hand almost crushing his. He braced for the impact.

When the combined weight of the others hit him, it threatened to tear his arm from its socket.

He choked back a cry. _I will not let pain defeat me!_

0-0-0-0

Footsteps approached the Magic Club's room, growing louder. The door creaked open. Miyu and the others huddled in fear.

A commanding voice cut through the air. "Girls, what is going on here?"

There was a collective sigh of relief. The Headmistress was here! Hurriedly, Miyu explained their situation: how they had found themselves unable to see, unable to locate Rie-Senpai, how magicians from another land came in answer to their plea. Saori added a few choice words about Hiei.

"I understand," replied the Headmistress. "But, Saori-san, in order for us to correct the spell, you must still your mind, put aside your enmity-"

"He STOLE from our family! An ancient, valuable sword! And then he just TOOK our ancient, valuable club's sword and-"

"-and come join us in the circle. All together, now."

0-0-0-0

Struggling to maintain his grip on the sword, Hiei heard Kuwabara, dangling far below, calling for his _Rei-Ken_. Good strategy; the sword could support him, help him find a foothold.

Ordinarily.

But Kuwabara's powers were still unavailable.

Kuwabara by himself was heavy. Shay-san and Kaitou also hung from Hiei's grip. He could not hold on forever. He could ignore the pain, scorn it, but bone and muscle had its limits; sooner rather than later, his arm would be torn from his shoulder.

And now the sword trembled and groaned; which would break first; sword or arm?

_Let my arm rip! I'll hang by my teeth!_ Hiei desperately scrabbled for foot purchase, found none.

But when the pain became unbearable even by Hiei's standards, it eased. Kuwabara, the anchor, found a foothold, not by magic but by sheer grit, easing the pressure on them all. Then Hiei found another foothold on the slippery pink cliff. Kaitou and Shayla Kidd did not dare cry out, fearing that even a breath might dislodge them.

They were safe-if desperately clinging to a sheer cliff, unable to move could be considered safe.

0-0-0-0

Joruju Saotome was grateful.

Kurama had arrived with Botan, both of them escorting a schoolgirl: Amano Rie, president of Rikuto Academy's Magic Club. Wearing a uniform of white blouse and blue plaid skirt, she was medium-tall, calm, with curling amber hair. A cinnamon-colored jaki that looked a lot like a chipmunk perched on her shoulder, happily nibbling a piece of candy.

The visitors created no small degree of chaos, and a larger degree of puzzlement, but that meant Koenma-sama had stopped chewing Joruju out. Joruju permitted himself half a grin.

0-0-0-0

It was a relief to have the Headmistress back. With her arrival, an enormous burden had been lifted from their shoulders. She quickly coached them on timing, breathing, pronunciation. Taking great care, the Magic Club girls again started their chant, following the stately, almost-hypnotic rhythm set by their Headmistress. When the chant was finished, Suzume let out a little cry, started to say something, but her declaration was swept away in a dizzying swoop of motion.

0-0-0-0

Hiei gasped for air. His hands were damp with effort, barely holding on to the sword. They were temporarily secure, but their position was still dangerous. He had to act. Their only course was to attempt the climb back up, where the school would be waiting.

Hiei felt a tiny blow strike his face. He winced. Shayla Kidd gasped, her hand trembling in his.

Then another identical blow struck, and another, regularly spaced-until Hiei realized that this was rain.

The rainy season had arrived early.

The rock face, slick to begin with, became like greased ice. First Hiei's foot slipped, but Kuwabara held on. Then Hiei's hand slipped from the sword. He clawed at the rock, but he failed to catch hold. With that, Kuwabara lost his foothold.

They fell, plummeting for the faraway ground without a single remaining hope, surrounded by rain, fog, and screams.

(To be continued: Will Hiei and company survive?)

-30-


	6. C6 Aftermath! A Search For Answers

Title: Cliffhanger C6: Aftermath! A Search For Answers

Author: JaganshiKenshin

Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor

Rating: K/PG-13

Summary: First, the swirling darkness, but now-

A/N: Thanks for reading this, and I appreciate your reviews!

"You were going to what?!"

Cliffhanger C6: Aftermath! A Search For Answers

by

Kenshin

During the course of the investigation, Hiei, Shayla Kidd, Kuwabara Kazuma, and Kaitou Yuu had vanished without a trace.

Joruju Saotome regarded Amano Rie, the schoolgirl, trying to piece together what she had to do with the case, when-a trembling of the air, a thickening, a moment of dizzines.

_Flash!_ The office filled with girls, girls, girls, similar to Amano Rie, in the same school uniform, except for one in a classic archery outfit of loose top and pants.

Joruju Saotome wondered if he was hallucinating.

Many of the girls sobbed in relief, clutching one another, crying out that they could see again.

It was a measure of how much Koenma-sama was taken aback by these developments that he did not, in the presence of so many girls, assume his Cool Teenage Form. Even Botan was quiet.

One particular girl, deep green in hue and rather top-heavy, was introduced as Yuri, President of the Drama Club. Two smaller girls huddled behind Yuri as if seeking her protection.

Emi had short black hair, golden skin, and a tail. Chiho, shoulder-length blue hair, out of which poked catlike ears.

While the girls made a racket, Urameshi Yuusuke shouted questions that no one answered.

Amano Rie said to Yuri, "Yuri-san, you really must stop using magic that you don't understand. Someone could get hurt."

0-0-0-0

One instant, Hiei, Shay-san, Kaitou and Kuwabara were plummeting to their doom. The next, they stood dripping on solid ground-in Koenma's crowded office.

Hiei didn't know whether to be relieved or furious.

0-0-0-0

"QUIET!" Koenma-sama pounded tiny fists on his desk, toppling a pile of paperwork. "You girls must explain!"

A glorious voice spoke agreement: "They will indeed."

Joruju Saotome turned to the siren sound and beheld in wonder: a female oni, ruby-red in skin color, clasping a carven pink stone. She had the bearing of an empress and the manner of a drill sergeant.

"I had gone to town for supplies," the scarlet beauty said, "thinking there would be no need to babysit my charges." She paused to sweep the room with a scathing glance. "I was evidently mistaken."

"Yes, Headmistress Miki," the students chorused.

The name Miki meant Tree Trunk. Joruju was enchanted.

"Fortunately," Miki-sama said, "I sensed something amiss, and turned back."

The schoolgirls uttered a chorus of apologies. Yuri-san started to say something else, but the Headmistress quelled her with a look. "As you probably know, I myself started in the Magic Club." She indicated the pink carving. "But we will deal with those small details once we return to school."

The empresslike oni then addressed Rie, who briefly shut her eyes and drew in a long breath.

Looking the Magic Club President up and down, stopping to study the tiny jaki that trembled on Amano-san's shoulder, Miki-sama's glare softened. "And that little creature will make a nice mascot for your club, don't you think?"

Amano Rie bowed. "Thank you, Headmistress."

"Miss Miki," Koenma-sama began, and then Joruju did not hear the rest of what he was saying. _Miss!_ thought Joruju happily.

"...and now I find myself here." The Headmistress turned that scorching gaze onto Koenma, who quailed before it. "I await your explanation."

"One moment," said Kurama. "Hello, Hiei."

Hiei grunted. He and Shayla Kidd, Kuwabara, and Kaitou were crowded soaking wet in a corner, as though hoping to escape notice. Joruju had not seen them before, having eyes only for Miki-sama. "But aren't you missing?" Joruju wondered.

"Not any more," said Hiei, accepting a towel from Botan, then handing it around.

"Oh!" Aiko, the girl with green-blonde hair stage-whispered, "For humans, they're all pretty cute."

Botan giggled.

"Especially the one wearing glasses," Miyu added.

Suzume approached the new arrivals. "Thank you." She reached out and took Shayla Kidd's hand. "I didn't have to see you," Suzume continued, "to know how beautiful you are."

Swallowing hard, Shayla Kidd turned away, murmuring that she had got 'something in her eye.'

The archer girl, Saori, merely stared at Hiei with a peculiar intensity. Hiei ignored her.

"Well?" Koenma's pacificer was working overtime. "Explanations? Joruju? Anybody?"

Kurama discreetly cleared his throat. "I believe I might offer a theory."

All attention was now focused on Kurama. "It was The Breakers itself." Extracting from his knapsack a fist-size hunk of milky pink rock, Kurama went on. "Botan and I returned to the site, where I chipped this specimen from an outside wall. We also encountered Amano-san, who had been struck blind. She had touched the Magic Club's symbol, which is also made of the same quartz, and found herself transported to The Breakers."

"Then..." Urameshi-san said to Kurama-san, "since you and I remained outside the castle, both of us stayed put."

"Exactly," Kurama went on. "I had suspected it before, but now I'm sure. It's this rare quartz-" He lifted it to the light, where it gave off an electric pink sparkle. "It causes random time-slips and schisms."

"And the loss of our powers?" Shayla Kidd raised an eyebrow.

"That's a little unclear," said Kurama, "but I think-"

"-it had something to do with the chandelier." Kaitou finished Kurama's thought. "It was blinking, as if there was a faulty electrical connection."

"Yeah, Kuwabara said. "But there's no electricity on in the castle now. Must be self-powered or something."

"Why weren't _we_ blinded?" Hiei put in. "Those of us who were pulled to the cliffside. Not that I'm complaining."

Miki-sama said, "The rather sloppy spell that Yuri-san and her followers tried to cast caused only her classmates to lose their sight."

"I never want to see them again-" began Yuri, as if recalling the spell, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Very well, then," said Miki-sama. "It seems that all is settled. Ladies, shall we get back to the school?"

Joruju Saotome sighed. _I think I'm in love._

0-0-0-0

Their sight restored, all students who had been involved in the incident stood before the Headmistress of Rikuto Private Academy, some shamefaced, some serene, others bewildered: Saori from the Fight Club; Rie, Miyu, Aiko, and Suzume from the Magic Club; the Drama Club's Chiho, Emi, and chief instigator Yuri.

"You girls in the Magic Club," the Headmistress began, "displayed some cool thinking and bravery in the face of a terribly distressing misadventure. In light of the circumstances, we will not mete out any further punishment."

The other girls sighed in relief.

"However..."

Someone took a sharp breath.

"Yuri-san." The single name, spoken quietly, had a profound effect on the president of the Drama Club, who seemed to shrink several inches. "You have perhaps learned an invaluable lesson in controlling your baser passions, and dabbling in realms wherein you are unskilled and unqualified."

"Yes, Ma'am," whispered Yuri.

The Headmistress sighed, regarding her troubled charge with a mixture of exasperation and affection. She shook her head. "The Drama Club will, of course, retain the room which it now occupies. Chiho and Emi, you should have known better than to fall into line with Yuri's outrageous scheme. But rather than suspending all of you and disbanding the Drama club, I charge you with the task of rappeling down the cliff to retrieve what may be left of the Fight Club's ancient, expensive, ceremonial sword."

The Drama Club trio nodded mutely, but Saori's melancholic voice cut the silence. "May I speak?"

"Of course, dear."

"I-I think we should leave the sword where it is. In tribute to the foreign Magicians who helped save us."

All awaited the formidable Headmistress' verdict.

"Very well." Miki-sensei leveled a shrewd look at Yuri and her sycophants. "You three will, of course, be responsible for cleaning the school's bathrooms... until further notice."

0-0-0-0

**White Paper On The Cliffside Case:**

In 1930, wealthy necromancer H. S. Cromwell moved to Tezuka Beach near Tokyo to establish contact with criminal elements of the _Makai_ underworld.

These contacts allowed Cromwell to accumulate the rare form of pink quartz (henceforth known as Crystal Pink Persuasion) from a cliff located in an upper region of the Demon Plane.

From this quartz, Cromwell built the castle he dubbed The Breakers. He also fashioned a device resembling a chandelier. With the amplified properties of the quartz, he would use this device to transport his underworld cronies to the castle. Once they had done his bidding, he sent them back, their powers stripped. Cromwell evidently did this both to amuse himself and to ensure his cronies could not turn on him.

In recent months there had been reports of _youkai_ sightings near The Breakers, bringing it to Koenma-sama's attention. Team Urameshi was sent in. (Refer to attached Depositions 1B-1H).

At the same time, a schoolgirl quarrel within the halls of Rikuto Academy (run by the magnificent Headmistress Miki-sama, see footnote) escalated. Three girls in the Drama Club used unauthorized magic in an attempt to avenge themselves on perceived rivals in the Magic Club. Being situated on a bluff near those quartz cliffs, Rikuto Academy's location gave the Drama Club girls a dangerous, if unsuspected, advantage.

As a result of the attempted spell, the schoolgirls (refer to attached Depositions 2A-2I) were blinded, the Magic Club President was transported to the Breakers, and Team Urameshi members still inside the castle were transported to the cliff, their powers drained.

We owe a debt of thanks to the tireless work of Team Urameshi, in particular Kurama's powers of reasoning. We also acknowledge the quick thinking and courage of some frightened schoolgirls, not to mention the lightning response from the glorious Headmistress Miki-sama, whose invaliable assistance helped restore the missing people, punish the guilty and reward the innocent.

The Agency for which Hiei sometimes works removed the chandelier that initiated transport between human and demon realms. Said device is now being studied.

(Footnote: Although Koenma-sama permitted the nomenclature of _Crystal Pink Persuasion_ to remain, he forced me to remove some of my more flowery references to esteemed Rikuto Academy Headmistress, Miki-sama.)

-Joruju Saotome

0-0-0-0

Hiei despised paperwork.

Fortunately, others had done the bulk of it. His own deposition hadn't taken much time, and was as spare as Saotome's was florid. His powers had returned, but slowly, making for an anxious week.

It had been a long, tedious mission (though the others would have rather smugly reminded Hiei that the 'mission' had taken less than a day).

Koenma and the Agency both would continue sending him on missions. He was, to them, only a tool, a means to an end.

He had made up his mind. Nevertheless, he sat brooding for quite a while over Joruju Saotome's official report.

0-0-0-0

A week later, Kurama, Yuusuke, Kuwabara, Shayla Kidd, Hiei and Kaitou met at the Yukimura Diner. Kaitou Yuu presented each of them with indentical gifts that read: _I Went To Makai And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt_.

When the little gathering was over, Hiei remained at the table, deep in thought. His decision had been a heavy one.

Someone coughed. Hiei looked up.

"Kuwabara? Why are _you_ still here?"

Kuwabara scowled at him, scratching the back of his head. "So you're not ditchin' us after all?"

_He knew? How? I never spoke of it, not even to Shay-san. Yeah, I went through it all. How Koenma and the Agency are only using me as a tool to pound in their nails or cut down some stray bamboo. I hate being a tool. Like how Cromwell used his _youkai_ contacts. But I can't conflate Koenma and the Agency with Cromwell, even on my darkest day. Besides, if I quit, Shay-san would quit, too. Then what? Who'd help fight the Shadow Wars?_

Hiei looked up at Kuwabara's craggy Easter Island face, thought of saying, 'Naturally. You'd be hopeless without me.'

Shayla Kidd. Kaitou Yuu. Urameshi, Kurama, even Kuwabara. Each had touched the ice in his heart, helped thaw it a little.

"You know me." Hiei grinned. "Once I pick a side, I stick with it."

-30-


End file.
